Mandarin

Piedmont Language School Mandarin Program 2014-2015

The Piedmont Language School Mandarin program emphasizes simplified Chinese characters while maintaining some exposure to traditional characters. This is in line with Piedmont Unified School District Mandarin program.

Mary Castagnozzi and her students during Chinese New Year Celebration

Simplified Chinese, used in mainland China, has become the preferred writing system for Chinese learners in most parts of the world. The United Nations has used simplified since 1973 and most university Chinese programs in the United States teach simplified characters.

We use the Simplified version of Chinese Wonderland textbooks and workbooks for Levels 1 through 4. We introduce Pinyin. The curriculum complies with World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools. The textbook and workbooks contains dialogues, vocabulary, sentence structure, classroom expressions, readings, cultural notes, CDs for listening comprehension and to underscore pronunciation, and communicative and task-based activities.

Class Schedule1:

All classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Piedmont Community Church. Classes begin Sept. 23th and end June 4th. All holidays follow the Piedmont Unified School District calendar. The student to teacher ratio will not exceed 12 to 1.

To register, click here. All registrations after May 31st are first come/first serve. We now offer payment through PayPal or you can continue to send a check to PLS, P.O. Box 11092, Piedmont, CA 94611. There is a $12 fee per student for the convenience of PayPal.

Tuition:

$498/semester or $995/year2. A 10% discount will be given to 2nd sibling or second language. PLS would like to make language learning available to as many students as possible. Please contact us about scholarships if we can help make language study more accessible to your family.